Prospective memory abilities while driving in adults with an autism spectrum disorder. Paper presented at 'the 18th European Conference on Developmental Psychology' in Utrecht, the Netherlands

Aim. Driving is an important step towards autonomy. The driving task consists of several subtasks, running inparallel. This requires the ability to switch in a smooth manner (e.g., shifting, steering, changing lanes, andkeeping traffic rules into account). Therefore, driving is a complex goal-directed task that places high demandson perceptual, cognitive, and motor processes. The little research that exists suggests that people with ASDexperience difficulties more specifically in complex driving situations, requiring multi-tasking and inducingincreased cognitive load. Furthermore, it is not only necessary to handle the vehicle, but also to navigatethrough rural, urban, and highway traffic environments while concurrently remembering appointments andobeying a schedule. People with ASD however experience difficulties with coordinating and sequencingactivities, and with planning ahead. Following this, prospective memory (PM) might interfere with driving. PMis the ability to remember to carry out intended actions in the future while being engaged in other ongoingactivities. Two subtypes of PM are event-based PM (EBPM) and time-based PM (TBPM). The former refers tothe execution of intentions at certain events (i.e., prospective cues), the latter refers to the execution ofintentions at certain times.Methods. This driving simulator study aims to investigate PM (i.e., EBPM and TBPM) as an underlyingmechanism of driving in adults with ASD (i.e., 18-62 years old). To this end, we translated several EBPM and time-based PM (TBPM). The former refers tothe execution of intentions at certain events (i.e., prospective cues), the latter refers to the execution ofintentions at certain times.Methods. This driving simulator study aims to investigate PM (i.e., EBPM and TBPM) as an underlyingmechanism of driving in adults with ASD (i.e., 18-62 years old). To this end, we translated several EBPM andTBPM tasks to a simulated driving environment. The influence of cognitive abilities (e.g., working memory, planning) is also investigated. A control group, balanced for age and gender, is included. The inclusion of abroad age range allows the investigation of developmental cognitive differences.Results. Data collection is ongoing and will be finished in February. The analyses are planned in March.